PORT ST. LUCIE – The City of Port St. Lucie hosted the inaugural Freedomfest 5K on the 4th of July and Councilman David Pickett, who lobbied for the event, and participated in it, was very pleased with the results.
“It’s really exciting to see so many people attend this event,” Pickett said. “I’ve really been pushing for this 5K. I’m happy to see that we have over 200 runners and walkers. It’s been a really good event.”
Nan Krushinski, special events director for the city, said money raised from the event would support the Independence Day Freedomfest celebration. “The 5K is a fundraising area so we can pay for our events,” Krushinski said. “We had a couple council members who brought the idea to us and thought it would be a lot of fun. We took off with it and we’re really thrilled with the turn-out this year.”
Held at the Mid-Florida Event Center, runners and walkers followed a route throughout the parking lot and around the building.
The Overall Male winner was 32-year-old Kevin Sapp of Port St. Lucie with a time of 16:07.28. Overall Female winner was 16-year-old Olivia Madden of Jensen Beach with a time of 23:41.89. Pickett, age 70, placed 2nd in his age group with a time of 37:57.72.
Six-year-old H. Dibble, of Port St. Lucie, was the youngest participant while 88-year-old Jose Cordero of Port St. Lucie was the oldest.
When asked if the race would take place again next year, Pickett was enthusiastic. “I certainly hope so! This was fun!”